Hilly terrain on the McDade Trail between the Hialeah and Smithfield Beach trailheads in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

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Note: There are mile marker posts along the McDade Trail just as there are along a highway. Trail miles are counted south to north, with Mile 0 being at the southern trailhead at Hialeah. Since this report is written from the perspective of traveling south from Smithfield Beach to Hialeah, the accounting of the trail miles covered on the trip is in reverse order.

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Trail Miles Covered: 1.9 to 0
Length:  1.9 mile
Difficulty: Moderate
River Run Shuttle: Smithfield Beach is an official stop on the shuttle route. The bus will stop at Hialeah if requested and can be flagged down if you walk out to River Road.

Before beginning or ending a trip on the McDade Trail at Hialeah, it is important to know that the road to Hialeah is closed to vehicle traffic from 8 PM on Fridays until noon on Mondays from late May until the end of September / early October, which effectively means NO PARKING on the weekends during the tourist season. The parking lot is very small, and since Hialeah is the southern terminus for the McDade Trail and a popular place to start the hike north, it would be overwhelmed with vehicles on the weekends. By closing the road, the National Park Service forces anyone starting a hike at Hialeah on the weekends to take the River Run Shuttle.

At Smithfield Beach, the McDade Trail comes in one end of the property and exits the other. Hikers can simply follow the Delaware River and walk right across the beach. Bikers, on the other hand, must follow the paved paths through the parking lots, which is a little more roundabout way to get from one end to the other.

Start of the McDade Trail on the southern end of Smithfield Beach in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The four miles north of Smithfield Beach are relatively flat, but the last two miles from here to Hialeah have two moderate hills to climb up and over, one of which comes right away when heading south. The hill is made up of two sections with a short, level reprieve in between. Overall, it is .3 mile long and climbs about a hundred feet. I made it up with no problem on my bike, and I’m old and in average shape.

Start of hilly terrain on the McDade Trail at the southern end of Smithfield Beach, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The top of the hill, which covers slightly hilly terrain, lasts a quarter mile, then it’s downhill on a moderately steep slope for another quarter mile. There is even a sign warning bikers of a steep hill, though in truth, it’s nowhere near as steep has the previous hills that had warning signs. I will say, however, that those coming from Hialeah definitely have a tougher climb than those heading south from Smithfield Beach.

Steep downhill segment of the McDade Trail just south of Smithfield Beach, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Once at the bottom, the McDade Trail runs for a half mile over hilly terrain before coming to a fork at the base of the second moderate hill. I’m not sure where a left leads to other than towards the Delaware River, but the big hill to the right is the McDade Trail. If biking from Hialeah, you won’t even notice the side trail, as you will zoom right past it when coming down the hill.

Fork just before the steepest hill on the McDade Trail between Hialeah and Smithfield Beach, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

This final hill comes a half mile from the Hialeah Trailhead for those heading south on the McDade Trail, and for those at Hialeah, right from the start. In this case, those heading south now have the tougher climb, and tough it is. The hill has an average grade of 17% (15% is the start of strenuous hiking), and some short segments average nearly 30%. That’s steep even for hikers. On the positive side, the hill is only 400 feet long, but it does climb 65 feet in elevation. By the way, those coming from Hialeah will see a STEEP HILL warning sign prior to heading down this hill.

Steep hill on the McDade Trail just north of the Hialeah Trailhead in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

At the top of the hill, the McDade Trail emerges from the forest and now runs out in the open next to a cornfield. The terrain remains slightly hilly.

McDade Trail runs along a cornfield just north of the Hialeah Trailhead in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The last quarter mile is all downhill to the Hialeah Trailhead parking lot, though the steepest sections only have a grade of -8% (a minus grade indicates downhill). The trail comes out directly at the parking lot.

Hialeah Trailhead for the McDade Trail in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

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